How Alabama football is challenging true freshman to be ‘every-down’ guy

Photo By Cedric Mason - Touchdown Alabama

Alabama football is challenging Michael Carroll to take another step forward as a true freshman.

Carroll is a former five-star recruit and a native of Pennsylvania. While he has not officially started a game yet, he has played meaningful snaps at right tackle in some of the Crimson Tide’s biggest games of the season.

Alabama’s offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb wants to see Carroll play with more consistency.

“Michael, when the game’s moving fast, he’s just got to be able to do the same,” Grubb said.

The Alabama offensive coordinator is encouraged by what he has seen from Carroll so far in terms of him learning the offensive system as of late. One of those encouraging moments happened while reviewing a play Carroll whiffed on.

“We’re having a unit meeting, I call Michael out in front of everybody… and Michael takes full accountability… He had the whole thing down,” Grubb told reporters on Tuesday. “He knew exactly what should have happened. He was immediately able to articulate what should have happened in the play. And the growth that you can see from a young player like that, just proves to me that he is very close to being an every-down guy.”

Kadyn Proctor, who lines up on the opposite side of the offensive line, feels Carroll is getting a better grasp of the playbook.

“The playbook aspect has definitely been getting better for him,” Proctor said. “I know it’s hard as a freshman. There’s a lot of stuff going in. There’s a lot of stuff that you have to remember, but he’s been doing really great with that. I mean as any freshman, you got a guy next to you telling you some things that you need to do, like a play if you don’t know the play, but we’re just telling them, like, ask if you don’t know, man. Just ask questions, and he’s definitely done that. So he’s definitely grown in that aspect.”

Alabama is expected to continue to rotate Carroll at right tackle.